The markets traded flat during the midday with the Dow slipping 6 points to 13,344 as investors continued to monitor fiscal cliff developments. Nasdaq added 3 points to 3057.On the upside

Markel (NYSE: MKL) will pay a premium of approximately $3 billion in cash and stock to buy reinsurer Alterra Capital Holdings (Nasdaq: ALTE).Shares of Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) climbed after the Chinese government announced that it would encourage corporate consolidations in the solar industry.J. C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) recruited former Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) vice president Brandon Tonniges to the position of director of visual merchandising.On the downsideFirst quarter earnings slipped for Actuant (NYSE: ATU) to fall short of expectations and the company forecast current quarter results below estimates.Team Health Holdings (NYSE: TMH) priced its secondary offering of 8 million common shares at the discounted price of $28.95 per share.YPF (NYSE: YPF) expects to finalize a joint development deal with Chevron (NYSE: CVX) by the end of the year.In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of 5 to 3 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 4 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 index eased 2 points to 1444.